Naz Modirzadeh, Director of Harvard Law School’s Program on International Law and Armed Conflict, discusses the challenges that face humanitarians working within new counterterrorism and countering violent extremism frameworks.

With 20 million refugees and 40 million internally displaced people globally, International Rescue Committee President David Miliband says the escalating crisis requires not just more, but also better, humanitarian aid.

The former head of the International Committee of the Red Cross in Yemen, Cedric Schweizer, and ICRC Senior Adviser Claude Bruderlein discuss their experiences of humanitarian negotiations on the frontlines of conflicts.

Where the UN sees an opportunity to carry out its humanitarian, development, and peacebuilding activities as part of an integrated approach, MSF and other NGOs have warned that such efforts could compromise the fundamental humanitarian principles of impartiality, neutrality, and independence and direct resources towards long-term rather than acute needs.

One of the most straightforward and effective measures that could be adopted to fulfill the responsibility to protect is the provision of safe passage and asylum to those fleeing Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad’s barrel bombs and the so-called Islamic State’s beheadings.

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The repetition by US Defense Secretary James Mattis during his recent visit to Islamabad that Pakistan should “redouble” its efforts against Islamist militants has further strained an already tumultuous…

The International Criminal Court (ICC) is set to gain jurisdiction over the crime of aggression. For the first time since the end of World War II, world leaders could be held accountable for waging war.

The events in Zimbabwe over the past few days have returned to the conversation an often disregarded stakeholder, the country’s citizens, who can no longer be compelled to accept the ruinous leadership of…

In recent months, Boko Haram has attacked rural military bases and convoys in the northeastern part of Nigeria and in surrounding countries, acquiring weapons in the process. Since spring 2015, when regional militaries chased most of…

UN peace operations and their successful reform require support from a broad range of member states and continued engagement with the UN Secretariat on a range of issues. The UN Peacekeeping Ministerial in Vancouver will be a good opportunity to continue such…

The violence in Yemen continues and the situation tells the tale of an on-going civil war, multiple factions with diverging interests, and a wide range of unaddressed grievances of a deeply divided society. Media outlets and the international community focus primarily on…

Similar to the Iran sanctions, the restrictions on North Korea (DPRK) by the UN are increasingly sidelined in favor of national policy prerogatives, but also by President Trump’s and leader Kim Jong-un’s increasing…

While the strengthening of Xi’s influence has raised more questions than answers about China’s trajectory—particularly when considered alongside legendary figures in party history—there are some indicators.

The United Nation’s most powerful, non-military response to global threats and security breaches remains, despite critics, skeptics, and procrastinators, its sanctions system. The one single insight on which…

At the heart of the issue is a governance vacuum that allows armed groups to control the flow of migrants in and out of Libya, presenting a unique challenge for governments in North and West Africa and EU policymakers.

Beyond the strong international outrage over the suffering of the Rohingyas and other affected communities in Myanmar and Bangladesh, it appears there is still no meaningful concerted action at the international and regional levels. This presents some basic but critical questions:…

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About the Global Observatory

The Global Observatory provides timely analysis on peace and security issues by experts, journalists, and policymakers. It is published by the International Peace Institute. The views expressed here represent those of the contributors and not IPI.

The International Peace Institute is an independent, international think tank located in New York, Vienna, and Manama, dedicated to the settlement and prevention of armed conflict.